The story of plot 7a: An allotment and grow your own blog

For as long as I can remember I have enjoyed foraging through hedgerows. The simple delights of finding a bumper crop of elderflower or an unspoilt patch of blackberries is always guaranteed to bring a smile to my face. However, despite having lived in a seaside town for five years now, I had never paid…

I know many people associate the smell as somewhat “old fashioned” or “Granny-ish”, but I absolutely love the smell of lavender. That deep, intoxicating scent that fills your nostrils and for me, instantly transports my mind to a quintessential English country garden in spring. This love of lavender lead to me planting my own little…

One of the reasons I love having my allotment is that it gives me a chance to try growing and eating lesser known vegetables. The kind of veg that makes non-growers give you a confused look and ask “What is that?” Each year, I do my best to grow at least one variety of fruit…

As the title of this post suggests, my tomatoes do not have blight (yet!) This is something that I am extremely thankful for. Blight is a horrible disease that will easily wipe out an entire crop of tomato plants, leaving you with nothing other than a feeling of defeat and frustration. I had not intended…

Though I have years of experience in growing vegetables, I must confess that I am something of a novice when it comes to growing flowers. This is surprising for a number of reasons. The first is that I adore flowers. I love taking a walk through a field filled with wild flowers, I can spend…

Who doesn’t love a good curry? I am not talking about a supermarket ready meal or a blow-your-head-off, post pub Vindaloo, but a well balanced, homemade dish with an emphasis on flavour rather than overpowering spice. There are so many great curry recipes around that there really is one to suit almost every palate. When…

In addition to this blog post, I also documented the process of creating my asparagus bed in a Youtube video. If you would like to watch me creating the bed, then click here Ever since I took over plot 7a in summer 2015 there was one thing which I knew I wanted. That one thing was…

I am sure most avid fruit and veg growers will understand exactly what I mean when I talk about the anticipation and excitement of the first harvest of the season. Those few days before a harvest is properly ready, when it is nearly there but just needs another day or two to grow a little…

Since I took on my allotment four years ago I have grown a wide variety of fruit and vegetables. Some have worked well and some haven’t. When I first took on my plot, I was perhaps a little over-eager and I attempted to grow as many different kinds of vegetables as possible – even varieties…

Most of my friends will tell you that I am not particularly shy about my body. To be honest, if you have never caught a glimpse of me in my birthday suit then we are probably not very close friends at all. Let’s be clear though, it is not some kind of exhibitionist streak, I…